Bingo!

Payton's latest favorite game to play is Bingo, a little I SPY bingo she got from Wendy's. She loves finding the letters and helping us find them too. She asks me many times if it is time to say BINGO!! but she knows it's not. She loves to say BINGO when she gets 4 in a row and then gets ready to play again.It is fun to play games with her and watch her excitement! Such simple little things can entertain for hours and she is learning at the same time. It is a reminder to me that enjoying the simple things is good and can be a ton of fun at the same time. You don't have to buy fancy toys to entertain your child just grab a game or paint and go have fun they will learn more that way then doing it and it won't cost you a dime.

Christmas time is here..

This year we did a lot of fun things to celebrate the season. We went to Swansons Nursery with Grandma and Grandpa Verver. Payton got to feed a camel a Marshmellow and see a miniturate dokeny ( Moe) who is friends with Curley the camel and two reindeer. Inside there was a train to watch and Santa was there to but Payton wanted to steer clear of him.



Then we went to Snowflake Lane in Bellevue where Payton danced with the music and hugged a penguin. She loves the watching the drummers dance to the music.


We also went to some new Christmas lights that were amazing and so much fun - maybe next year we can walk around part of it if it doesn't rain.
We did our trip downtown to the teddy bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic a beautiful old hotel with one suite decorated with Teddy bears. Payton had to hug them all and Gave the biggest bear a hug and shook his hand and said, "nice to meet you mister bear". Then we went to the Holiday carousel that she loves. I love how it makes her giggle and she gets so excited to go every year.






We also did our yearly Santa picture at U village which Kevin and I have been doing since we started dating - 7 years ago.



Can't forget Candy cane lane which we do every Christmas.

This time of year we like to bake cookies, we usually make 3 or 4 different types. This year we made gingerbread and vanilla-almond sugar cookies a few weeks ago and this week we made Mudslide cookies and chocolate crinkles two of our favorites It was fun baking with Payton this year because she can do so much more and she loved watching the chocolate melt and the mixer go around and around.
It is fun to watch her grow into a little baker who can "do it herself". She loves being able to help and to make then eat her own creations. It is so much fun and who cares if we make a big mess, they are memories that we can share and remember always.





Baking with Grandma Tucker - making a big mess.

Time for some hot chocolate cause baby it's cold out side !

Today we are having the first snow in a long time. Payton looked outside and said It's snowing!! Look mama it's snowing. It is so beautiful to watch . I took Payton outside while I did a few things I need to outside . She was tring to pick up the snowflakes but couldn't so she decided that we needed to sing Jingle bells to the cats in the window. It was fun watching her enjoy the snow coming down. We went out front to check things and as we were watching the snow out there she noticed it was in my hair - she said there's snow in your hair!! It was pretty funny to see.

Peppermint Brownies - ohh so delicious!

Today Payton and I made peppermint brownies using peppermint patties and a simple brownie mix. She helped me mix the ingredients and sort out the peppermints( first she ate some of the dry mix) - as she calls them. When every thing was mixed we poured about half the batter in the baking dish, then the real fun began. I opened the peppermints and Payton placed them on the brownie batter in the dish, she had fun pushing them down and moving them around. She had batter on her face, hands, foot and in her hair, a true baker. When we had enough peppermint patties we poured the rest of the batter and put it in the oven to bake. The smell was heavenly and we could not wait to try our little treat.





They are delicious! Daddy will be surprised when he gets home and I know they will not last long in this house!

My little helper

Payton wanted to help me clean and do laundry yesterday which is great! I love how she wants to help and be just like mommy. I was folding laundry last night and she was wanted to help so she would take what I folded and put it in a pile but not like I would towels together and then my shirts ,Kevin shirts etc - she laid them each in their own spot until she ran of room and then she just randomly started piling clothes up.She got so excited about another towel or shirt it was really cute, I never knew how exciting folding laundry could be until now! Then she decided that she should walk on it and mix it in a big pile when we were done. I tried to put away what I could before all my hard work was ruined. She did help put some of it away and decided it would be fun to fill "her bag" with daddy's socks. Chores are never dull with a toddler around.

Trick or Treat - those are the words Payton had been saying all week but when It came time to say it Sunday night she wouldn't. She did say thank you and another one.






She was excited and got it more than last year. She also loved to feed the kids or people - give the kids candy, she held the bowl for them and really wanted to put it in their bags.


She was a very cute Tinkerbell and loves to wear her costume even those she won't get candy for doing so.. I will be fun as she gets older to watch her play dress up and see what she comes up with. It is fun to watch her as she discovers new things and figures out things like how to pull a chair up to the counter to get what she wants.She can now get into drawers to make new discoveries of what is inside.